tomorrow we'll have both republican ares and democrats onto talk about the fiscal cliff. it is going to be an interesting show with some fireworks. ac 360 starts now. wolf blitzer is in for anderson cooper. >> thank you. not choosing sides or playing favorite ares there is plenty of that on the other cable news channels. we are interested in facts. they do exist. tonight, the facts about taxes that the majority of americans established on election day. the nation's leading conservative paper is onboard. they now agree with the president who wants to let taxes go up on income on more than

$250,000 a year. doing a deal to raise those rates. where all bush cuts on all tax brackets expire at the end of the year. that is something that gives president obama a lot of clout right now. you can agree or disagree with the president obama policy that is for you to decide. congressman happens to disagree strongly but recognizes that the political reality that all tax cuts will expire on january 1st. >> in my view, we all agree that we are not going to raise taxes on people that make less than $250,000. we should take them out of this discussion right now and continue to try to work for a bigger deal. >> congressman cole cubelal colr

a lone voice for the conservatives. i'm quoting now, the fact is that republicans face a new political reality on taxes. president obama's position means that taxes are going you up one way or another. congressman cole as you heard, they believe they should give this one to the president not because they want to, but because they have to. republican leaders though, they disagree. >> i told tom earlier in our conference meeting that i disagreed with him. it will hurt our economy, that is why this is not the right approach. >> you can agree or disagree with that position. however, keeping them honest, house speaker and others have been trying to play down the

fact that president obama and others got a significant boost from voters. in politics there is the temptation from those who win office to think that they have a mandate to do what they will. they re-elected the house republicans. so whether people intended or not, we have divided government. >> the american people made clear that there is no mandate for raising tax rates. >> keeping them honest. president obama campaigned and won. so his victory throws cold water on that claim. democrats gained seats in the senate and on the house. more than two in three people support tax hikes for the wealthy. it is something that republicans will be grapling with from now until new year's day. >> thank you.

>> your proposal that republican lawmakers should agree with democrats should extend tax cuts for those making $250,000 or less later that is an idea that a lot of republicans are reki resisting. what kind of push back are you getting? >> i think some have more questions about it. i don't believe in raising tax rates on anybody. by slowing down growth cuts revenue. i think the president need to come to the table with real entitlement reform. if we agree that taxes should pt go up on 98% of the people? shoundn't we set that aside now? i think we'll win the argument on the other areas. putting people at risk.

is something that we shouldn't do. >> speaker boehner said they need to stick to their position. tax rates. i guess they believe that if you do what you are suggesting, you lose a lot of leverage at far as spending cuts are concerned. how do you respond to that? >> i respect that but i don't agree with it. i think at the end, this is the ref rage for the democrats not the republicans in this. my advice was given privately. i was asked what i thought. my position hasn't changed so i'm happy to talk about it. the speaker is going to negotiate this deal with the president. it will come back and ask for support. i've supported him every time i

have been asked to make a vote. but when i'm asked my opinion. what we should do with 98% of the american people. i would say let's protect them and continue the fight. >> are you ready to fight for it in spid te of this pushback. including grover norquist? >> i admire him. i signed that pledge. i don't think we would be breaking it. i want to make all of them permanent quite frankly. this is a debate about political tactics. in the end, ul republicans want to make sure that we don't increase taxes. but if there is a place that we can get 80% of the bush tax cuts, i think we should do that and continue to fight for the rest are. >> i spoke to him yesterday, he opposes anything along the lines

of allowing a debate to go forward next year over the 2%, the 3%. he wants it all part of the same package. you disagree with him. >> well look, he is my friend. we talk you know political strategy and politics. this is my position. it was given in private. when he was asked, it was leaked by somebody. this is what i tell them. if they say what do you think we ought to do? i'm one voice. and i support the speaker. i recognize he is the speaker. they are trying to do the right thing. i think in this case the democrats and the president are trying to use the tax issue. instead they ought to be coming to the table with real reform. >> thank you very much for joining us. >> wolf, thank you.

>> joining us now, senator from kentucky. let's get to this fiscal cliff. $4 trillion in debt reduction. are there specific ways of reaching that figure that both of you might agree on? >> well, you know i think one comprom ice is that we need to cut some military spending. conservatives like myself who think that national spending, i think that compromise could get to spending cut. >> here is the question, both sides are going to have to compromise beyond defense spending. do you see you supporting? >> mostly has to be on the spending side. we used to spend 20% of gdp.

federal spending has gone up. and when people say we have to raise taxes on rich people, one there is not enough money and you get less revenue. and when you lower rates you get more revenue. what do you make of tom cole's proposal that republican lawmakers should extend tax rates for those making less before the end of this year and deal with the tax rates for the wealthiest americans at a later date? >> once you separate them out there is not a lot of sympathy for therism people. but the public often doesn't realize that the public pays almost half of the income tax. when the president says it is bad to raise tax, i want to raise it on 40% of the nation's

income. i think that is a big mistake. it is better to leave the money in the hands of those who earned it. >> leave it in the private sector. >> i understand you don't want to raise the tax rates on anyone. what about eliminating loop holes, stuff like that. are you open to that? >> yes, if it is for tax reform. if we were to lower rates. for example, i think you could lower the top rate from 35 to 33. but i'm not going to vote to bring more money to washington. that is how you get the economy to grow. we'll have less economic growth. >> if all the republicans hold firm to that position you just spelled out and significant

detail. there is not going to be a deal between now and december 31st and all americans they are all going to see their tax rates going up starting january 31st. how are you going to feel about that? >> the president came forward and said when you have slow growth, less than 2% now, why would raising taxes now be a good idea? it is still a bad idea and i think while i think there is room for a prom promise, i don't think one person gets to decide where the compromise is. he ran on this notion of raising taxes on the wealthiest americans. he is probably going to hold firm on that. we'll see what happens over the

next four weeks. as long as we are spending money on robots, don't raise any taxes. thank you very much. >> less us know what you think. follow us on twitter. up next, another twist in the administration's attempt to explain what happened the night four americans died in libya. potential nominee for secretary of state caught up in the controversy may have sunk deeper today. they could save a lot of money on their car insurance by switching to geico...they may even make you their best man. may i have the rings please? ah, helzberg diamonds. nice choice, mate. ...and now in the presence of these guests we join this loving couple. oh dear... geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.

anyone have occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating? yeah. one phillips' colon health probiotic cap each day helps defend against these digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. approved! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'. [ female announcer ] live the regular life. of washington about the future of medicare and social security. anncr: but you deserve straight talk about the options on the... table and what they mean for you and your family. ancr: aarp is cutting through all the political spin. because for our 37 million members, only one word counts. get the facts at earnedasay.org. let's keep medicare... and social security strong for generations to come. in that time there've been some good days. and some difficult ones. but, through it all, we've persevered, supporting some of the biggest ideas in modern history. so why should our anniversary matter to you?

because for 200 years, we've been helping ideas move from ambition to achievement. and the next great idea could be yours. ♪ and the next great idea could be yours. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level.

let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. keeping them honest. four americans died that night and there are plenty of unanswered questions of what went wrong. another scorching day today. un ambassador susan rice.

day after iraqi session, she met this morning with republican senator susan collins of maine. >> i continue to be troubled by the fact that the un ambassador decided to play what was a political role at the height of a contentious presidential election campaign by agreeing to go on the sunday shows to present the administration's position. >> listen to what she is talking about. one of several appearances that she made after the five days of killings. >> what happened in benghazi was in fact a spontaneous reaction to what had transpired hours before in cairo.

elements came to the consulate as this was unfolding. >> notice the phrase extremist elements. we have since learned that she was talking to talking points edited. if you recall former cia trek tore david petreaus made the committee. the act the cia director said the fbi was responsible. later he said it was actually the cia that changed the talking points. it is a bit of a mess and a headache for president obama who defended susan rice today but did not mention libraya. >> thank you we want to get back

to work. susan rice is extraordinary. couldn't be prouder of the job that she has done. [ applause ] . >> here to talk about it. senior fellow at the foundation of the defense of democracies. also joining us, fran townsend. you have been at the white house when a nominee is in trouble with members of congress, you know when a high stakes meeting this was between ambassador rice. the acting cia director would stumble so badly.

do you think if it was an innocent mistake it adds fuel to the fire? >> this was the event took place on september the 11th. the first few days are understandable. you can sort of excuse that. but this far later it is unfortunate. mike morell. he had been senate confirmed at the deputy prior to this. very well respected. there is no excuse for it. this late in the game. these meetings were so important to be making those kinds of mistakes now. >> you say it is not an insignificant mistake that he made.

>> no. i don't think so. i mean the administration got itself in trouble. being so assertive on setelevisn and denying the possibility that you add han organized terrorist attack in benghazi. and i think it got inflated and if ambassador rice and others had been determined to say that the well-known video was behind it all i think this problem wouldn't have happened. the subject as you know of great contention. there is still a number of questions. her performance raises a red flag. officials are supposed to anlize

themselves in a sense freelancing when sensitive classify classified information is concerned. >> we may have had an organized terrorist group that may have been affiliated with al qaeda behind the attack in benghazi. i don't think it would be that difficult for her to give a discussion of what transpired in benghazi. >> you dealt with the talking

points when you served at the white house. normally before sunday's show the communicators and those that drafted the talking points will prepare the individuals especially when they are going to do multiple shows. we don't know whether that happened here. if it didn't, you learn how to make a more nuanced argument. but you don't speak. frankly, this was poorly handled. and she went out there making it sound crystal clear and she was poorly served and she didn't use the talking point that she had given. >> you went to libya before the terrorist attack and you were warning that al qaeda was

gaining a foot hold in labibya. what do you think as to why those references were deleted. wolf, these talking points went to a dozen agencies and nobody took responsibility for the clearing of them. it is a beurocraaurocratic fumb the fact that what we are not talking about. what has been lost in this is what you say, prior to this event it is clear that terrorists were gaining a foothold. why wasn't more done? the substance of this is lost in the debate about the talking points and that is the more important issue to me. guys, thank you very much for joining us. >> pleasure.

>> rebel fighters in serious say they have shot down three milt aircraft. if it is true, c nnn is on the scene. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] everyone deserves the gift of all day pain relief. this season, discover aleve. all day pain relief with just two pills.

[ male announcer ] a european-inspired suspension, but it's not from germany. ♪ a powerful, fuel-efficient engine, but it's not from japan. ♪ it's a car like no other... from a place like nother. introducing the all-w 2013hevrolet malibu, our greatest malibu ever. ♪ humans -- even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

opposition fighters say they have shot down three military aircraft. rebels claim that is the wreckage of a fighter jet they

brought down. cnn shot that video. this one was posteded online by the rebels. it appears to take a direct hit. cnn can't verify the video's authenticity. but in recent weeks they have captures a number of air bases. they should down three military aircraft over the last 24 hours. tell our viewers what you saw. >> pretty dramatic developments. they do not have the capab

capableability to take on the air power. we went to the scene where a fighter jet was down earlier. we saw the burned wreckage. being picked through by villagers rejoining in the fact that they were able to see so many nightmares. now being becoming trophies of war. making off with a sizable ten lump gold of metal. he said he was picking olives and he said he saw the plane being hit. he said he managed to find the

man being hit. he said what did the opposition fighters tell you there. >> they were able to bring down the jet and the two other aircraft. this base spans as far as the eye can see. there was an intense battle that took place there for 24 hours. that was after they were at the base for two entire months. they positioned snipers around the base preventing regime helicopters from bringing in air dropped supplies to the unit that was trying to bring in a

base. up plies would end up in rebel hands. they are telling us that they captured a treasure trove of weapons from this. they told us that they found hundreds of them. they are showing stacks of medal boxes. many are telling us that right now the balance is beginning to slightly shift. >> is there a sense and you are there on the ground that one of these sides has the upper hand right now? >> the rebels are slowly gaining

ground. but at this time, it has the advantage of the military arsenal. all of the fighters from all of the activists and that is that the longer it stays in power, the greater the strength. >> stay safe over there. thank you. >> could be the largest case of medicare fraud ever. dialysis company accused of throwing away medicine. keeping them honest. next. ill "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. no way. [ male announcer ] sorry. alka-seltzer plus fights your worst cold symptoms plus has a fast acting decongestant

to relieve your stuffy nose. [ sighs ] thanks! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth! [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus. ♪ oh what a relief it is! ♪ [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth and save $1 visit alka-seltzer on facebook. [ male announcer ] to learn more about the cold truth one is for a clean, wedomestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. anne's tablet called my phone. anne's tablet was chatting with a tablet in sydney... a desktop in zurich... and a telepresence room in brazil. the secure cloud helped us get some numbers from my assistant's pc in new york. and before i reached the top,

the board meeting became a congrats we sold the company party. wait til my wife's phone hears about this. [ cellphone vibrating ] [ female announcer ] with cisco at the center, working together has never worked so well. taxes authorities used to seize

evidence from warren jeffs. why they are making the move when we continue. so, as we go into this next phase, you know, a big part of it for us is that there isn't anything on the schedule.

tonight we're keeping them honest with how much money can be made with treating sick americans.

a company moved into this office tour complete with fountains and a key gondola for private meetings. what does the company do? it added up to a $7 billion business. the empire run by the guy who dresses by one of the three mus can he tears. >> $15 million. the best compensated.

comes from medicare and medicaid patients which is why the allegations has been billing the federal government are so alarming. if the allegations are true, the company threw away hundreds of millions of dollars of medicine and you paid for it. >> it was just by chance dr. vaynor a medical director was discussing clinic procedures with one of the nurses. and the two say they saw something that was very wrong. medicine was tossed eed in the trash. >> when we sat down and started talking about it. and getting into the details. we realized what was going on.

>> they claim it was a way for their company to defraud the government, overbill medicare and medicaid and make a fortune. >> we are talking about hundreds of millions easily. >> of the profits that this company had from those two drugs and hundreds of millions of dollars. because we are talking about defra defrauding medicaid and medicare, that is money you pay for. the schemes that you discover were going out across the country. more than 1800 of them with tens of thousands of patients. dr. vaynor says it was a strategy. >> it was a scheme to increase and boost the medicare revenue.

medicare payment to increase the revenue. >> here is how the doctor in structed the doctor to administer this drug. >> this is 100 mg. for example, if a patient requires this dose once per week you would administer 100 mg and waste nothing. what the company did instead of this one vile they gave 50 mg and trashed. 25, 75, to the trash. 25 gep, 75 to the trash. so essentially, two whole viles that could have been given without waste. >> the more it used the more they were able to bill the

government. bill and barbara claim they tried to get it stopped. but they say they were told to stop causing trouble and continue to follow the company's protocols. >> that is what upset me the most. that is when i said i can't do that. he said heuit his job and left the clinic rather than continue where fraud was going on. >> of course, once they found out, they did not renew my medical directorship or my practice. and it was a significant loss of revenue. >> today, both men have filed a whist whist whistleblower lawsuit charging the company with massive fraud. the ceo wouldn't talk but the company's attorney kim rivera

did. >> the allegation is simple. that devida was being paid to throw away medicine and came up with schemes. what is the response? >> that is wrong. if you look at the facts of the case, first of all, the doctors make dosing decisions, decisions were being made by doctors based on what was in the best interests by patients. you can't just look at you know, one issue. you have to look at things like infection control. what the patient is going to do, how the patient is going to do with doses and so during that entire time, what we did what the doctors did was appropriate. but other companies including

the main competitor used smaller viles and combinations limits what was thrown away. never to increase wasteage. they claim the company made as much as $800 million over billing the government say that won't hold up in court. it is not just the taxpayers that are the victims here. it is the health care system. it doesn't take a graduate degree to understand what is going on here. the company vows to fight this case in a georgia court. but earlier this year, devida settled a similar case. pat burns says the bigger problem is even if a company

gets caught cheating the government the executives never seem to face punishment. fines are paid, business continues as usual. if the fraud is not caught, then taxpayers foot the bill. if the fraud is caught, stockholders foot the bill. >> they are voting for harsher treatment. he points to record billion fines that are paid but executives don't get punished and the companies continue to do business with the government. one of the company's defenses to cnn is that the company has continued to charge the good. the government has come in and investigated what the allegations are and in both cases the government decided to drop it and move on.

the decision should not be miss construed about the merits of the case. the u.s. department of justice doesn't have the people. the u.s. department of justice declines all the time. which brings us back to one doctor and one nurse who stand to make millions if the allegations of fraud prove true. the u.s. government will recover the bulk of whatever they win. they and others like them are the deputies in the fight against health care fraud. >> are you surprise thad you have to defend the u.s. tax pair and not the u.s. government knocking on this door? >> it is not easy to come forward and stand up and tell the truth but it is the right

thing to do. >> their case set for trial later this year. >> drew, is theresy chance that the company settle the case and put the allegations behind them? >> you know the attorney for the company couldn't rule that out. but insists this time the company is going to fight the allegations. that is the bread and butter for the $7 billion business. more than 2/3 of the company's revenue comes from treating patients on medicare and medicaid. the company will make sure that it has that contract in place. even with that money at stake, why isn't the government's own l lawyers taking up the case? >> where are the government's lay lawyers?

>> i don't know? congress has set aside more than $600 million. but the u.s. attorney has decided not to intervene. does that mean that she thinks that this is a bad case? all we can tell you is that in a letter the u.s. attorney stated that a reminder, that if these two guys win, the doctor and the nurse win, whatever settlement they do get, the biggest winner of that settlement is going to be the federal government. drew, thank you for that report. we'll continue to monitor and see what happens. >> 57 years after albert einstein's death the world is getting a look at 14 photographs of his brain. for near row surgeons it is a window into genius. sanja joins us that is next. ms

at over 500 branches nationwide. so when you call or visit, you can ask for a name you know. because personal service starts with a real person. [ rodger ] at scottrade, seven dollar trades are just the start. our support teams are nearby, ready to help. it's no wonder so many investors are saying... [ all ] i'm with scottrade. you can stay in and share something... or you can get out there and actually share something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on. this is the pursuit of perfection. part of a whole new line of tablets from dell.

it's changing the conversation. ♪ of green giant vegetables it's easy to eat like a giant... ♪ and feel like a green giant. ♪ ho ho ho ♪ green giant is efficiently absorbed in small continuous amounts. citracal slow release continuously releases calcium plus d with efficient absorption in one daily dose. citracal slow release.

share "not even close." share "you owe me..." share "just right." the share everything plan. sharable data across 10 devices with unlimited talk and text. get a droid razr m by motorola for $49.99. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent.

nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally. we all know deep down that albert inestein's brain was different than ours. but those differences are are serious and how they might explain his genius. the paper includes photographs of his brain. fast forward to 2012.

you can imagine the interest that these images hold for our chief medical correspondent. look at the ridges and the valleys of the brain. this is something that develops and can change as someone goes through their life. what we noticed is that there are a lot of convoe lugss. there are more than normal. you have more surface area to the brain. it means more neurons and that alone doesn't indicate that is more intelligent but that, they have the capacity for it.

>> you see a split in the frontal lobe. we don't know what that means. we know that part of the brain is responsible for decision making and actually getting tasks done. also one more image, what you are looking at here, you are looking at the back of the brain now r now, they are are different right to left. on the right side there, that is an area that is responsible for taking abstract ideas and putting them together.

it was quite large. >> is there anything in the brain that has implications for meer mortals like us? >> the idea that are you born with it or do you develop it? >> you can ask the same thing when it comes to einstein's brain. this area is responsible for you're motor control. we know he was a musician. he played the violin. that was something that he developed. that part of his brain changes. it is the most remarkable thing.

let's get the latest on otheeth stories we are following. >> the new york city nanny charged with murder of children in her care has pleaded not guilty. >> when the children's mother came home she found the kids dead and saw the woman stab herself with a kitchen knife. >> warren jeffs who is serving a life sentence, the texas attorney general's office has started proceedings. >> worlfe a record breaking

powerball drawing is hours away. >> i've got the winning ticket. i spend $20. i gotten chance to win. what do you think? >> let's see if you are in the chair tomorrow. >> i'll be here. we'll be right back. [ male announcer ] considering all your mouth goes through, do you really think brushing is enough to keep it clean? while brushing misses germs in 75% of your mouth, listerine® cleans virtually your entire mouth. so take your oral health to a whole new level. listerine®... power to your mouth™.